meatpupet

does anyone know [other than vht] of a compound, or a mixture that i could make for a traction compound. i have tried sugar water, not sure if i ysed the right mixter of sugar and water. we don't have alot of money so i need something i can mak or get cheap. thanks for any help i can get. the track is a concrete road corse

gwilli2001us

We used the following formula from the Toledo club
(pls correct me if I maje a mistake!!)

5 Gallons Methanol
32oz. Mountain Dew fountain syrup
32oz. Castor Oil

Depending on the grade of the concrete or asphalt, you can adjust the amount of Castor oil but we had INSASNE grip for foam and rubber tyre cars that lasted all weekend with just 1 sprayng, hope this helps!!

Greater L.A. R/C Racing Club

P2gee

I usually do the spraying at RCRCNT in Rendon Tx, here's what we use.

To 16 gals water add 10lbs confectioners sugar and 1 qt clear corn syrup. IMPORTANT: do not use granulated sugar or you will end up with a donut glaze mess especially if you approach oven bake track temps like we do down here. I have found the most important part of making sugar water is get all the ingredients mixed and into solution and this takes some time to do properly. Our spray rig has a weed eater motor driven impeller pump. To mix, I recirculate the pump outlet into the tank using the impeller as a kind of mixer for the ingredients. On warm days I spend a good 10-15 minutes doing this mix recirculation and on colder days it may take 20 minutes to get everything to mix correctly. This mix on our track provides decent grip from the get go that progressively gets better as more rubber is laid thru the practice and heats. The only thing that concerns me is you state that your track is concrete. Been my experience that concrete is a very different animal when it comes to compounds for traction. The mix I listed (or Toledos ) may work on your surface but then they very well may not. In which case you may need to modify these mixes or create you own. Good Luck.

Tony Rice

In Fort Myers, FL at the Winternats track we use a very similar formula to gwilli2001us

meatpupet

the concrete track is an old bumper car track so the surface is flat and smooth, the track is located in ohio. i am going to try toledos mix and see what happens thanks

wizby

Where are you buying methanol and castor from? Does denatured alcohol work instead of methanol? Do you buy it in large quanitys?

gwilli2001us

We had to shop around, but call Steve Howard at So. Cal Racing Products in Downey Ca. for methanol. If anybody out there follows sprint car racing, the Howard family has been at that for a long time and they are a great bunch.

For your Castor oil, call Danny at Maxima Racing in Santee Ca. They have small and large quantities for sale.

We had to open an account with Pepsi Bottling to get the Mountain Dew syrup, they have distributors all over the place and you can buy it in 5 gallon boxes.

Occasionally, we still may use some VHT and there is a decent price on that stuff down at Team C in Bellflowwer Ca. They will give a discount to R/C clubs if you let them know. We usually mix 1gal VHT to 2gal Methanol.

Good Luck and keep us posted

Glenn Williams
President
GLARCRC

gwilli2001us

Here is a question, if there are race days where a lot of entries are not present to run the rubber down, can you use less castor oil and more syrup? We had a situation where the track was slick and virtually undriveable for about 2 hours after we sprayed. It was also a very cloudy and mild day.

In comparison, at the RCX expo the track was setup on month old new asphalt and that stuff was like fly paper and the weather was close to or at 100 degrees that weekend. Our home track asphalt is very similar to that of Homstead racaeway in Florida so on cloudy or colder days, what can we do to reduce the initial slickness of the castor and have a decent curing time for the compound?

Our present mix is:
32oz Mountain Dew syrup
32oz Castor oil
5gal. Methanol

Any advice is appreciated!!

quietstorm76

iTrader: (12)

Can someone explain just what happens when you mix methanol and castor oil?

triple7s

iTrader: (4)

My local track uses straight Grape soda, works great, cheap generic brands are $.80 for 2 litres.

wizby

From what I understand the methanol just thins the castor so it can be sprayed through a nozzle. The syrup gives some grip right after spraying and the castor is the real traction compound but takes a little while to set up.
Please correct me if i am wrong. I know from running on toledo's track it works great, and doesnt really wash off, you can have an afternoon thunderstorm go through and grip is good right after it dries.

Tony Rice

We have had the same issue if there aren't a lot of cars running at the beginning... unless .... there is a temperature change in the racing surface.
On cooler or overcast days, it takes longer for the track to come in. Spraying the night before helps. A few weeks ago we knew we wouldn't have a bunch of racers so we left out the castor to try. I worked ok. At least cut the cost of using the castor. Also a little advice, when experimenting, don't mix karo syrup with methanal. It doesn't mix. Turns into a paste like liquid. Nasty. Good for grass killer though.

ammdrew

iTrader: (25)

MMR Track Grip. Mixes with water, Have to watch the mixture or the sprayer will lock up if too thick. Dry time is 5-10 on good days. Does not wash off so track is back as soon as track is dry.

meatpupet

can you use anything else besides methonal ? it is hard to find

quietstorm76

iTrader: (12)

+1